The invention relates generally to the field of postal devices and, more particularly, to preventing postal devices from losing funds from certain types of errors.
Since the issuance of U.S. Pat. No. 1,530,852 to Arthur H. Pitney, Mar. 24, 1925, the postage meter has had a steady evolution. Each meter has had a printer included therein on a one-on-one basis, i.e., one metering device and one printing device incorporated into a unit. In postage meters, the need for security is absolute. Such security is applied to postage meters, both to the printing portion of the meter and the accounting portion. The reason for the need for absolute security is that a postage meter is printing value, and unless security measures are taken, one would be able to print unauthorized postage, i.e., postage for which no payment is made, thereby defrauding the post office.
Prior art postage meters included an accounting portion, a postal indicia printing portion and a control portion that was coupled to the accounting portion and the printing portion. Some postage meters utilized transfer printing techniques to print the postal indicia on a mailpiece or label. Transfer printing or offset printing was accomplished by affixing a plate bearing a postal indicia to a portion of a printing drum or cylinder that received ink from an inking roller, and then transferring the inked postal indicia or indicia imprint to a mailpiece or label. The prior art also utilized a print head instead of an inking roller to supply an inked postal indicia to the printing drum or cylinder. When the printing drum commenced rotating, the value of the postal indicia was subtracted from the accounting portion of the postal meter, and the postal indicia was imprinted on the mailpiece when the indicia portion of the printing roller came in contact with the mailpiece.
Typically, a photocell was placed before the printing drum. The photocell would detect the presence of a mailpiece, which detection would cause the printing drum to start rotating. Then the value of the postal indicia would be subtracted from the accounting portion of the postal meter. Thus, if the mailpiece was not in proper alignment with the printing drum, the accounting portion of the postal meter would deduct the value of the postal indicia, even though the postal indicia was not properly printed on the mailpiece. The user of the postage meter was charged for the amount of money deducted by the accounting unit even though the mailpiece did not have the proper indication that postage had been paid. If the user wanted a refund for the amount of money deducted by the accounting unit, the user would have to physically bring the mailpiece with the improperly printed indicia to the post. The foregoing was inconvenient and oftentimes did not justify going to the post office to receive a small amount of money.
Digital postage meters have been developed that produce encrypted indicias on mailpieces in order to reduce postal fraud. A finite amount of time is required to construct the digital indicia. Thus, a leading edge mailpiece sensor may be placed a distance away from the location that an indicia will be printed on the mailpiece so that the meter may have sufficient time to compose the indicia. As digital postage meters get faster, the above method of producing indicia will either limit the speed of producing the indicia or force the digital postage meter to mailpiece travel path to be physically longer. The moment that the digital meter began constructing the indicia, the accounting unit deducted the amount of postage that was going to be affixed to the mailpiece. Hence, if the indicia was improperly printed on the mailpiece, the user would have to physically bring the mailpiece with the improperly printed indicia to the post to obtain a refund.
Personal computer meters that print postage and virtual meters that print postage have been developed that produce information-based indicias on mailpieces to reduce postal fraud. A personal computer meter includes a personal computer, a personal security device and a printer. A virtual meter includes a personal computer, a printer and a data center. Once a decision to print an information-based indicia has been made by a personal computer meter or a virtual meter, the meters will be charged for the postage printed in the information-based indicia even if the mailpiece jams in the printer and the indicia is not useable. If the user wanted a refund for the improperly printed indicia, the user would have to bring the mailpiece to the post.
This invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by not requiring users of meters that print postage to return to the post those indicias that are affixed to mailpieces that have been printed improperly due to improper alignment of the mailpiece with the printer or the jamming of the printer. An additional advantage of this invention is that the sensor in postage meters that initiates the indicia formation process may be located at a point upstream of the indicia printing mechanism, where the mailpiece is not properly aligned in order to reduce the footprint of the postage meter. The foregoing is accomplished by requesting funds from the accounting unit and transferring the funds to a print buffer when a print registration sensor detects the mailpiece at a location that is sufficiently downstream of the printing mechanism in order to enable the meter sufficient time to compose the indicia; checking the orientation of the mailpiece with a sensor just prior to printing the indicia; and printing the indicia if the mailpiece is properly aligned with the printing mechanism, or storing the indicia data (information contained in the indicia in a digital format together with a digital signature that uniquely identifies the specific funds dispensed by an accounting unit for a particular indicia) in a dedicated secure register if the mailpiece is not properly aligned with the printing mechanism. The operator of the meter may then request, at a time convenient to the operator, that the post to refund or credit the amount of monies stored in the dedicated secure register via Postage By Phone(copyright) or the internet. Postage By Phone(copyright) is a system designed and operated by Pitney Bowes Inc. of One Elmcroft Road, Stamford, Conn. 06926, that allows postage meters to receive funds over the telephone lines.